Letters to editor in Naples Daily News Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019

Nothing to say, Sen. Rubio?

An open letter to Marco Rubio:

You have betrayed your children, the residents of Florida and the nation. You are afraid to stand up to the misogynistic, xenophobic racist in the White House.

You have failed as a father and human being to set an example of ethical behavior and as a senator to uphold your oath of office. You have failed as a citizen of this country to protect our democracy from enemies at home and abroad and have failed as a citizen of the world to protect our environment.

You are no patriot. You swore to defend the Constitution, yet you put party over country. Your loyalties are not to the highest moral principles, but to the bully in the White House who steals from the American people, thumbs his nose at laws and our Constitution, kidnaps babies, claims global warming is a myth and says the Russia invasion is a hoax?

By your silence, you condone the president’s ineptitude, corruption, lies and crimes. You are complicit in the threat to our precious democracy and our ailing environment? Our children’s futures are at stake.

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." — Albert Einstein

Come out of hiding and do something, Marco Rubio.

Gerri Noyes, North Naples

Blame Trump for shootings?

If you support President Trump, you are a racist and responsible for the mass killing in El Paso. Does that seem at all a credible opinion? Well, that's what a letter to the editor last week concluded.

Based on that logic, anyone who supported President Obama would be partly responsible for the deaths by mass shootings during his tenure. That included five police officers who were murdered by a lunatic in Dallas. President Obama attended the funeral and took that opportunity to criticize, again, law enforcement in general. Although he repeatedly was non-supportive of law enforcement, I did not blame Obama for the deaths in Dallas, nor should the current president be blamed for what happened two weekends ago. Mass killings in this country did not begin with the current president or the last one. Sadly, it has been going on for decades.

Rather than blaming the president, why not demand our elected officials do something? With so much hatred among Democrats for this president, it is difficult to be hopeful that governance is going to improve any time soon.

Ron Saffin, Marco Island

Too much TV time on shootings?

How to stop or slow the mass shootings in the USA?

Too late for 2019 and 2020. With nonstop 24/7 TV coverage explaining how the shooter proceeded to kill so many, what gun he used, had body armor on, identifying gunman, the next crazed person will think, " I can do better."

The only people who need information are the relatives of the victims and law enforcement.

Limit TV coverage. Law enforcement should limit news conferences to two per day and a maximum of 10 minutes and take no questions. Just the facts.

We do not need to hear from every politician and news pundit. Please change the TV channel or turn it off as soon as the news comes on about the shooting.

Dan Boeckman, North Naples

A vote for a woman on commission

Oh, merci beaucoup. Last week you introduced me to a potential friend/ally as I carried you around to the doctor’s office and drugstore all afternoon. I kept thinking: Maybe I should call the letter writer in Fort Myers to thank her for her words and express my support for her stand that a woman is sorely needed on the Lee County Commission.

As I agonized during the painful doctor’s examination I thought: When I get home, I’ll find her phone number and initiate contact. But when I was told I must go for a day of testing to follow up on the clues the doctor got from my jet-lagged body, I almost threw the paper in the basket. But no, no. Women have to stand, support and strengthen each other.

So before I take off now to open a day in Quest Diagnostics, I want the letter writer to know I will be in touch, will hope these words will express my support for her important point of view and pray that someday we will live in a country that embraces our differences and ensures our equality. Perhaps our next presidential election can take us a step forward in that direction.

Victoria Jean Terre, Bonita Springs and Naples

Coyote control is meeting topic

Cape Coral and the FWC will provide an informational workshop about coyotes at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Please attend. You will not be disappointed in this extraordinary presentation.

There is a problem with too many people feeding coyotes, either directly or indirectly with attractants. It is illegal in Florida to feed coyotes. We need coyote attractant control, so we must reduce the artificial food supply for coyotes.

Dogs should be kept on a short leash and supervised at all times even in your own backyard. The only way to keep cats safe is to keep them indoors.

Coyotes mate for life and seek a new mate only when theirs has died. If we hadn't wiped out wolves and panthers from Florida, we wouldn't have a coyote problem. We need to learn to co-exist with wildlife, not extirpate species one by one until there is nothing left.

The meeting Wednesday will be in the Cape Coral Council Chambers, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd. (Editor's note: To confirm the time and place of the workshop, call the city government at 239-574-0401 or the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 850-488-4676).

Jeanne Jain, Cape Coral

Trump on mentally ill getting guns

Isn't there a saying "lead by example"?

First of all, the president of the United States is supposed to be admired and revered, and have grace, but I am embarrassed by our current president. It is the most important position in the entire world, but he is showing it is OK to berate and bully people and cities through social media. What in the world is he teaching our children? That this is the norm?

Trump avoided the draft by claiming he had bone spurs, but then he attacks John McCain after his death? John McCain was a real hero. Donald Trump can only aspire to be a hero, in his mind.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, President Barack Obama took executive action on gun control, blocking some people with mental impairments from buying guns.

But one of Trump's first actions as president was to repeal that regulation, in a very quiet way, I might add, much to the delight of some backers.

Now he wants to play the consoling president and boost his re-election chances. Give me a break. He is a bully, and bullies are cowards. This is not the way to bring this country together.